# Is "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" by Junot Díaz a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz (Riverhead Books, 2007) is identified by: First edition, Riverhead Books, published September 6, 2007, the author's first novel and later a Pulitzer Prize winner. The US Riverhead 2007 hardcover is the true first, confirmed by the full number line including 1.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, Riverhead Books, published September 6, 2007, the author's first novel and later a Pulitzer Prize winner
- The first printing has a full number line including 1 on the copyright page
- The first-state dust jacket carries a Walter Mosley blurb on the rear panel and should retain the original printed price on the front flap
- Publisher imprint reads Riverhead Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Junot Díaz |
| Publisher | Riverhead Books |
| Year | 2007 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, Riverhead Books, published September 6, 2007, the author's first novel and later a Pulitzer Prize winner |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, Riverhead Books, published September 6, 2007, the author's first novel and later a Pulitzer Prize winner. The first printing has a full number line including 1 on the copyright page. The first-state dust jacket carries a Walter Mosley blurb on the rear panel and should retain the original printed price on the front flap.

## Is this the true first?
The US Riverhead 2007 hardcover is the true first, confirmed by the full number line including 1. The UK Faber edition is a separate printing.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club copies lack the full number line and typically show a blind-stamp to the rear board.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao* by Junot Díaz a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-brief-wondrous-life-of-oscar-wao
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.